I got to help with making a classic X-Wing Fighter last night. I have to say that the amount of thought and engineering (notice I mention them separately as they are not always the same thing <snicker>) that goes into Lego kits these days is simply amazing.

The pictures on the box and even the finished product, simply do not do it justice as the eye and our familiarity with the real thing, fool our brain into recognizing it, for the most part, as single solid object.

The sheer amount of tiny parts was very surprising to me. Especially on the inside where you don't always see them. Some of the most imaginative things were how they dealt with moving parts, gears,cogs and making room for all of those while keeping structural integrity out of a mass of tiny parts.

At times we found ourselves building a component and trying to guess what the heck it could possibly be and how it could ever possibly result in the finish product. Next thing you know, it snaps into place with something else and, to be honest, I was amazed sometimes.

What's even more amazing is how well Lego has mastered the art of the visual instruction booklet. Without a single word spoken (saves on language reprints too I bet) it took all this complexity and visually described each step broken into smaller, just right, size components.

Ya, those of you with kids are probably scoffing and saying that this is nothing new. But for those of you who haven't tried one of the bigger Lego kits since you were young, like me. You should really try to muscle in on a friend's, kid's build like I did, or hell, buy your own. It's worth it to see whats in the guts of that deceptively simple and toy-like model that you see and probably took for granted, like I did.

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With great power comes Awesome irresponsibility.

Years ago, I was on a business trip to Minnesota. We took the opportunity to visit the "Mall of America" (as luck would have it, Shania Twain was there siging autographs). This was in the '90's and back then, there was a Lego World in one of the central areas. I don't know if it is still there, but I was astounded at what I saw - lifesize cars, dinosaurs, mammals. It was incredible.

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"A fanatic is someone who can't change his mind and won't change the subject" Churchill

I love Legos. Up until a few years back when my youngest bought all sorts of Harry Potter Lego kits, it has been at least 20 years since I touched a Lego, and yet Legos were my favorite thing to get for birthdays and Christmas as a kid.

My nephew is really into Legos (as many 10 y.o. boys are) and I've always had the attitude that "they were better in my day". Yeah, I know that makes me sound old.

I had always thought that it was better to get a bunch of bricks and parts and be creative in what you made as opposed to making a kit from something that was pre-designed. I thought the new Legos took all the creative aspect out of the process so they couldn't be much good.

As a kid I had a box full of just various blocks, but I had a couple of space themed kits... I put them together per the book, messed with them a little, and then they got taken apart and just mixed in with the other "regular" Legos. Lots of opportunity for creativity there.

Hey, I never implied that they were better from a fun/imagination perspective. What I was saying was that I was blown away with the complexity in the designs of these 'model' kits.

For instance, take a look at this relatively simple section that is made of of probably 36 some odd individual parts. After adding 8 hing pieces and viewing the shape, you might begin to think that you are building a chassis for the expandable x-wings... maybe.

In reality, it clamps on at multiple levels to the hull frame you previously started to give it the aerodynamic shape in the Fuselage. Also check out the detail behind the cockpit where mechanisms for opening & closing the wings are.

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With great power comes Awesome irresponsibility.